Tuesday, February 28, 2006

At My Hearth

You are a king by your own fireside, as much as any monarch on his throne.-Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

As "Antje, Katja's mom" (one of my favorite commenters, by the way) has pointed out, Am Kamin means "at the hearth" or "at the fireside" in German. We're all a little perplexed as to how this came to be in a Japanese pattern book, subtitled "New Style of Heirloom Knitting" (in English), came up with a German title for the pattern. Nevertheless, it adds to the international flavor of my Olympics.

Pay no attention to the windswept, trying to keep from shivering form on your left. It was really really cold when we were taking these photos.

And now, all the knitterly details you've been waiting for:

Am KaminPattern: Am Kamin from New Style of Heirloom Knitting, details of how to order the Japanese book on the Crossed in Translation KAL blogYarn: Cascade 220, color 4007, approx 7 1/2 skeinsNeedles: US 7 Addi NaturasNotes: (Of particular interest to others knitting this sweater.)

Reading Japanese patterns is so easy! Seriously! I've gotten a lot of emails and comments from people who look at it with fear, but as soon as you sit down with it, it's no different than any other charted knitting pattern with great schematics. In many ways, it was easier than a lot of English patterns.

Along those lines, this is a great pattern for reading your knitting. I didn't do any extra charting or spreadsheeting or anything - I just knit from the pattern. To maintain the delightful mirror-image symetry, just start knitting the row from the other direction. I thought of every cross as "towards the center" or "away from the center."

The raglan shaping at the shoulder (sleeve on top, and the seam is straighter in real life):

I had serious row gauge issues that necessitated me knitting more rows than called for in the pattern. The downside? Takes longer. The equivocal side? Heavier sweater. The silver lining? More lovely patterning.

I left all the stitches at the collar line live rather than binding them off and used them for the collar.

I notice that my right slanting lines of twisted stitches are more pronounced than my left slanting lines. Is this technique? I've recently heard of twisting stitches in both directions, which might account for the difference. Something to explore later.

The tubular cast on is the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen, and the tubular (aka Kitchener) bind off is similarly worth the extra time. Check it out on the collar.

Best Thing About This Project: I love the sweater, but it can't hold a candle to Team College Hill and the Knitting Olympic spirit.

You've tempted me into attempting this one.........have to get the book on order, pick out some yarn.........It really is a great sweater, and you did a marvelous job! It was fun to watch you do this during the great Olympic event!

I have the book and have done a ton of swatching, but couldn't get anything to work, but the Cascade 220 has me thinking. I have a ball in my stash for swatching purposes. My first try with it did not come out to gauge. Were you able to get spi gauge? I see that you were short on the row gauge. How did you handle that~~adapt the pattern I mean? This is definitely next in line after I finish my FLAK cardi.

Every detail of this sweater is a masterpiece. I wish all you folks out there in Blogland could see the seams up close -- I don't know that I've ever seen more precise finishing. Theresa, I hope San Diego has a freakishly cold few years so you can give this beautiful sweater the wear it deserves.

Totally amazing! I have that pattern, and I am part of the KAL, but I have to admit, I have been fearful of starting. This gorgeous sweater gives me confidence. Even more amazing that it was knit in 16 days!

Wow! What a beautiful cardi. The colour is perfect and so is the size. I have to continue on mine after the olympics are over:)All the designs in the pattern book are named after different music. Am Kamin is by the russian Piotr Tschaikovsky other designs are for exampel Ondine by Maurice Ravel and Winterreise by Franz Schubert. Monica

It's got a German title because it's named for a piano piece by Tchaikovsky known as Am Kamin in German. The cover sweater is named Herbstlied after another piece in the cycle. All the projects are named for pieces of music.

Wow, You did a superb job with the color and fit of this sweater! That must have been a monumental task from what I hear regarding the pattern just being in one size and in Japanese. You're my hero! Take care, Tori

Gorgeous sweater! I can't believe you finished it in 16 days! I think your success is the last straw - my Christmas gift certificate is going towards yarn for this sweater. Maybe I'd best order the book first, and finish my Olympic project ;-)

I've been working on mine pretty much every evening, and while I only have about 67 rows to go on the sleeves, I feel like I'm WAY behind everyone else. We should get together at Christmastime, as mine is a cranberry color, just like in the book.

Awe inspiring--the fact that you finished this in 16 days is amazing. It looks awesome :) I'm glad it can be done in Cascade 220, because it's one of my favorite yarns :) Great job--thanks for sharing!

What a beautiful sweater! I am really, really impressed that you were able to cable so quickly!! Because of you, I went and ordered the book yesterday! I think I even have enough Cascade 220 in my stash...like I really need another sweater on the needles!

Hello, I have been trying to find the pattern Japanese Cable cardi by Am Kamin and have been unable to locate it. It must be out of print. I went to the site Crossed in Translation and clicked on "order book" and the book pictured did not have this pattern in it. Does anyone know how I can get/buy this pattern? It really is beautiful. Jo Anne

Your sweater is gorgeous! I've started knitting it in Cascade 220, and I, too, am having serious row gauge issues.

I know that I can just knit a couple of more inches before I start the armhole. But how did you keep the pattern looking good for the raglan decreases? The original is so carefully mapped out....and I won't be starting in the same place or decreasing at the same rate as in the pattern.